Meiko Kurenai
Meiko Kurenai '(紅 命孤, ''Kurenai Meiko) is one of the protagonists in Attack on Titan: Solitude as well as the current leader of the Solitary Detachment. After her family was killed due to a breach in Wall Maria, Meiko fled to Wall Rose where she lived on the streets of the Karanes District until she was old enough to enlist in the military where she graduated amongst the top of her class as a member of the 444th Training Corps. After graduation, she enlists in the Survey Corps with the goal of making sure that no one else would have to suffer as she did. Appearance Meiko is a physically fit woman with well-defined muscles across her body with emphasis on her abs and legs. She stands at an average height and possesses long stark white hair coupled with pale blue eyes despite being of partial Asian heritage. However, she retains the traits of pale skin from her mixed genes. Her usual choice of attire is the Solitary Detachment's uniform which consists of an easily identifiable black coat coupled with a white dress shirt and short mantle. On the lower half of her body, she wears a loose black skirt combined with a large belt that holds various equipment which enables speedy attachment of vertical maneuver equipment. She pairs this with black leggings and wedge heels. Even when Meiko is off duty, she has not been seen to wear anything else other than her uniform. During her time as a squad member of the Survey Corps, Meiko wore the standard issue uniform without the jacket or green cloak. Personality Before the deaths of her parents, Meiko was a cheerful and outgoing girl who enjoyed helping others with various tasks, being always willing to lend a hand. After the fall of Wall Maria and the destruction of her town, Meiko grew to be extremely withdrawn, speaking only when spoken to and even then utilizing only the bare minimum of words required. Furthemore, Meiko has a strong aversion to working with others and will usually opt to do things alone or her way, believing that in order to ensure everyone's safety, she must do things with her own hands. Despite this, Meiko surprisingly retains her drive to help others which could be said to have even magnified due to the events that she had been forced through. She has a powerful urge to help those who are in danger or seek to better themselves which stems from her desire to not want anyone going through the same trauma she did. After the Revolution of the Utopia District, Meiko slowly begins opening up, speaking more frequently and sometimes showing emotions through her words and facial expressions again. Background History Born within the Walls to two loving parents, Meiko enjoyed helping around the town whenever she could, picking up several skills in the bakeries as well as the blacksmiths at a young age. However, when Wall Maria was breached and her town was destroyed while her parents sacrificed themselves to save her, she was forced to live on the streets of the Karanes District, picking up scraps to eat during her initial days. Eventually, she found a blacksmith shop that was looking for help and was willing to take her in, giving her shelter for the night while she worked for them during the day. The blacksmith that had took her in was of the stoic and silent type, furthering Meiko's development of her withdrawn disposition with the two of them speaking only when necessary. Eventually, Meiko left in order to enlist for the military once she came of age, promising to return the kindness that the blacksmith had showed her during her toughest times. After entering the military, she continues to send a portion of her pay to the blacksmith. Story WIP Abilities Meiko possessed one of the greatest skillsets within the 444th Training Corps in terms of combat, intelligence, as well as even engineering. She was ranked as one of the top five trainees and possesses incredible skill in almost all aspects; however, her reluctance to work with others coupled with her antisocial disposition has caused her teamwork and coordination to suffer greatly, often getting in the way of her team's predetermined plans or even putting them in danger as well as sparking conflicts occasionally due to her refusal to follow plans created by others. * [https://attackontitan.fandom.com/wiki/Vertical_maneuvering_equipment '''Vertical Maneuvering Equipment]: Meiko is capable of operating the Vertical Maneuvering Equipment at an incredible level of skill that surpasses all precedents set before. Meiko was able to almost immediately grasp the intricacies and technique of the balancing and weight-shifting required to operate the gear at an extremely high level. With it, she is capable of moving through vast hordes of Titans with ease while simultaneously slaying them. Her style of utilizing the gear is described as "beautiful yet brutal," directly launching herself into the face of Titans, steering herself wildly without concern for herself and weaving between each Titan as if dancing while she slays them. * Martial Arts: Meiko is well versed in several forms of martial arts which she learned from her parents before their deaths. She is capable of defeating opponents larger or heavier than herself by exploiting momentum as well as weight transfer with her style of martial arts which focuses more on powerful counterattacks as well as striking vulnerable parts of the body such as the nose or the sternum. She is also capable of applying this knowledge during combat against Titans, disabling them momentarily by severing key tendons necessary for movement. * Great Stamina: Meiko possesses a large amount of stamina as well as willpower. She is able to continue fighting at nigh top condition even if wounded or battle-weary. * Great Speed: Meiko is incredibly fast even without her Vertical Maneuvering Equipment to the point where she is capable of dodging Titan grabs in close range. * Great Intelligence: Meiko is capable of learning things at a fast pace. Most notably, she was able to engineer a custom Vertical Maneuver Gear which was made from a lighter material which enhanced her combat speed. Furthermore, it was light enough to be carried around by Meiko like a long case, allowing her to curb her paranoia and be "ready at all times." * 'Bloody Path of Life '(紅の命, Kurenai no Inochi): A power that runs through the Kurenai bloodline, it is awakened only when one suffers great loss or love. In basic terms, it enables the user the ability to synesthetically "see" the "weak points" of living beings around them. Essentially, the user is capable of sensing the location of "weak points" (e.g., the nape of Titans, the hearts of Humans, etc.) in the living beings within a fixed radius of them. The user is also capable of instinctively knowing the quickest and most efficient way to reaching those "weak points," something that Meiko describes as "seeing the trails of blood." A prime example of this is when Meiko avoids a Titan's grab by leaping upwards and then running up its arm in order to cut at its nape after running out of gas for her Vertical Maneuver Gear. Later when confronted for her rash actions, she merely informed her fellow trainees that she "just knew it would work." Relationships WIP Quotes WIP Trivia * Meiko's name means "Crimson Fate of Solitude."